Moishes steakhouse sold to owners of La Cage sports bar

Moishes Steakhouse has been in business for 80 years.

Moishes Steakhouse has been sold to the owners of La Cage sports bar.

Sportscene Group is buying the iconic restaurant on Saint-Laurent Blvd., as well as the Moishes line of products sold at grocery stores.

Lenny Lighter, the former owner and operator of family-owned Moishes, will continue to manage the restaurant.

“I'm the last surviving owner of this business. I have four children and none of them are coming into the business. They’ve all chosen their owns paths in life,” he said.

The purchasers haven’t ruled out expanding the Moishes brand across Canada.

“I think we have some opportunities with the brand on the retail side of the business. I think it’s a brand that maybe can in the future bring outside Quebec, we don’t know. It’s got a very reputation, as you know, in Quebec, in Montreal,” said Jean Bedard, president and CEO of Sportscene Group.

Lighter said he’s happy the restaurant is being sold to a Quebec company, adding that the acquisition could mean Moishes products could become available to a wider, more global, customer base.

Lighter said, though, that the original steakhouse experience won't change.

"We can humbly say that we are an institution that has always greatly contributed to Montreal's reputation and specific character, and we want to keep it that way,” he said.

Moishes celebrated its 80th anniversary this year.